Just One More Time
by Smurf2005
Summary: Ten years had passed since the Great Seven Samurai were in Kanna Village. Kirara was thinking about Katsushiro and Katsushiro was thinking about Kirara. Will they see each other again? KiraraxKatsushiro. Kind of.


A/N: Hello everyone! Smurf has another new story! Wow! I am just putting them out, aren't I? There have been some changes in my life that have been stressing me out lately. Writing is my way to deal with the stress. Well, that and playing violent video games. There is nothing like killing random things. And random villagers like in Fable. Hehe. I haven't written a _Samurai 7_ in awhile, so I decided to write one. Anyways, I intended this story to have a lemon, but there isn't one, as you can see by the rating. I put the reason at the bottom; so, please check that out if you are interested in the reason why there was no smut in this story. The name of my story comes from a song by the Christian rock band, Disciple. I was a fan of theirs back in the day. I still like them; I'm just not that big of a fan anymore. Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not _Samurai 7._ Akira Kurosawa owns it. If I owned it, well, we all know how I feel about Katsushiro and Kirara.

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><p><span>Just One More Time<span>

Ten years had passed. Ten long years without Katsushiro. Kirara sighed as she pulled her arm up and covered her eyes. She was currently lying on her back in a field of wildflowers. She found herself here a lot in the past ten years.

Kirara had not gotten married, and that was because a certain samurai still held her heart. Her grandmother had told her that she needed to forget Katsushiro and move on with her life. She had gone on and said that she should never fall in love with a samurai. They never stay in one place for long and they always break your heart. Kirara let out a frustrated sigh. She knew that now. She had her heart broken by Kambei first, and then when she finally realized she loved Katsushiro, he had already closed up his heart and left her. She left out another frustrated sigh as she sat up.

"Onee-chan!" a voice called out behind her.

Kirara shifted her body so she could see the person behind her. Komachi was running toward her, the Dowsing Crystal glinting on her wrist. Kirara gave a wry smile at the Dowsing Crystal.

"What is it, Komachi?" Kirara asked, when she got close enough.

"Baa-sama said it is time for dinner. And we still need to leave rice for the fallen Samurai."

Kirara nodded and stood up. Komachi led the way back to the hut and Kirara got a chance to study her little sister. Komachi was now twenty years old and she was very pretty. She had a lot of the men in the village lining up to court her. But, she was the Water Priestess and her heart still belonged to one of the fallen samurai. That would never change for her. Kirara admired her sister for that. She had given her heart to one person and was still able to love that person even though he was dead. Kirara on the other hand still loved the two samurai who broke her heart, and she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to fully give her heart to one. Though, when she was alone and when she was trying to sleep at night, she always thought about one samurai, and that samurai was Katsushiro.

As she followed her sister home, she looked around the village. It had gotten bigger since the war. There were more children around, too.

"Komachi-sama! Kirara-sama! Will you tell us the story about the Seven Samurai again?" one of the children asked.

"Sorry, not right now. We are on our way home to eat. Maybe another time," Komachi said, smiling.

They continued to walk to the hut they shared with their grandmother.

"Ah, Kirara. Welcome home. Where have you been?" she asked.

"Sorry, Baa-sama. I was thinking in my favorite spot."

"Were you thinking about Katsushiro-sama?" her grandmother asked.

Kirara was silent, but gave a swift, short nod, as Komachi filled her bowl with rice. Her grandmother sighed as she picked up her bowl and started to eat. Kirara followed suit and they had a nice quiet dinner, with a few short conversations. After dinner, Kirara and Komachi washed the dishes and Komachi took out the bowls they had reserved for the four fallen samurai. They filled the bowls with the remaining rice and carried the bowls to the hill. They placed the bowls in front of each grave and prayed.

After they were done praying, Komachi went on back to the hut, but Kirara stayed kneeling in front of the four graves. Kirara still felt a little guilt after all these years. She felt she was responsible for their deaths, and she had never truly forgiven herself. She stayed kneeling until the sun had fully set and she knew it was time to go home. She sighed as she stood up and headed back to the hut for the night.

Some miles away in Kogakyo, Katsushiro was quietly getting out of the bed he was sharing with some random woman. She didn't mean anything to him. She was just a one night stand to him. Over the past ten years, he shared a bed with many different women. Some were whores, others weren't. But, as he slept with these various women, he would only see one face. That was the face of Kirara, the girl from a village named Kanna, and the first girl he was ever in love with.

As he dressed quietly, he wondered what she was doing now. Was she married? Did she have children? Or was she still single. There was a part of him telling him to go back to Kanna and see her.

_'I can't do that,'_ he thought, _'I told her that I closed off my heart. I doubt I could just waltz back into town and tell her that I have been thinking of her for over ten years.'_

_'But the fact is that you have been thinking of her for the past ten years,'_ a voice in his head said. _'There is no way you can deny that.'_

He sighed quietly as he pulled his hair into the ponytail he always wore. He snuck out of the house and made his way to the place that he had bought. He walked in through the door and looked around. He had very few possessions, and the feeling to pack them all up and go to Kanna was almost too much to bear. Katsushiro growled softly as he got ready for bed. But, sleep wouldn't come. She plagued his every thought. When he closed his eyes, all he saw was her.

He tossed and turned all night, and when dawn broke, he decided he was going to Kanna Village. Katsushiro packed up his few possessions and set off for Kanna Village.

On the way to Kanna, he only stopped a few times to rest. The prospect of seeing Kirara kept him going. He wanted to see her as soon as possible. After awhile, he came upon Wing Rock. He knew that he was finally in Kanna. He wondered if anyone would know who he was. Ten years had passed, and he had aged a little. But, he hadn't changed much. He started walking toward the village, and after a few minutes, he stopped. A few feet in front of him was Kirara, the woman that haunted his dreams for ten years. She had a group of children following her.

"Please tell us again, Kirara-sama! We want to hear the story!" one of the children was saying.

"But, I just told you the story!" Kirara said, a small smile on her lips.

"We want to hear it again!" another child said.

A chuckle escaped Kirara as she looked up, and she froze as her eyes met Katsushiro's green eyes. Her eyes widened and she rubbed them a couple times. The children were looking back and forth between Kirara and Katsushiro, obviously confused about the reaction Kirara had.

"Kirara-sama," a small girl piped up, "who is that man? Is he a Samurai?"

"Children, that is Okamoto Katsushiro-sama. He was one of the Samurai who defended Kanna."

Silence fell over the small group. All that could be heard was the chirping of the birds, the buzzing of cicadas and the rustling of the leaves on nearby trees. Then all at once, the children started screeching in delight.

"Wow! I can't believe it is one of the Samurai!" a little boy said.

"He is so cute!" a little girl said to her friend.

The kids gathered around Katsushiro and asked him questions. He answered them as best he could. He even showed them some moves. Finally Kirara stopped them and sent the kids home so she could talk to Katsushiro. She waited for the kids to disappear before she looked over at Katsushiro, crossing her arms across her chest.

"What are you doing here, Katsushiro-sama?" she asked.

As Katsushiro looked at Kirara, he felt his resolve fading and didn't know if he could tell her the truth. He didn't think he would be able to tell her that he came back to Kanna to be with her.

"I was just passing through," Katsushiro heard himself lie.

As soon as those words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them. He thought that he saw something like pain flash across her face as she turned away from him.

"Well, I guess you can stay with us while you are in the Village. Follow me," Kirara said.

Katsushiro followed Kirara through the slightly familiar village. The people who were there for the battle ten years ago, stopped and greeted him. Katsushiro greeted them back by name. He was surprised by how the village had grown. He felt the rush of pride, knowing that he had a hand in helping defend the village so it could prosper like this.

Katsushiro followed Kirara to the hut she lived in and both her grandmother and sister were surprised to see him, but greeted him like an old friend. He talked to the two women, letting them know what was going on. The only one who wasn't listening to the conversation was Kirara. She was sitting in a corner, with a book.

The rest of the day passed like that, with Kirara only contributing to the conversation when it was called for. When evening finally arrived, Kirara helped Komachi get dinner ready. Once again, Kirara didn't talk much. Dinner passed in the same manner. When Komachi and Kirara got ready to make the daily offering to the Samurai, Katsushiro asked if he could go with them.

So the group of three made the short walk to the hill, where the graves were. They placed the rice in front of the graves and prayed. Komachi left Kirara and Katsushiro alone. They stood side by side for a few minutes, just looking at the graves.

"When do you plan on leaving, Katsushiro-sama?" Kirara asked.

Katsushiro glanced over at Kirara. She wasn't looking at him. She was gazing at the graves, and it looked like she was in deep thought.

"Kirara-dono, there is something I want to tell you," Katsushiro said. "I didn't come back because I was passing through. I came back to see you. For the past ten years you have been on my mind. There was nothing I could do to get you out of my mind."

At first Katsushiro didn't think she had heard him. Then, her eyes widened and she looked at him.

"You've been... thinking about me for ten years?" she asked.

Katsushiro nodded his head. He didn't think he would be able to say anything. She looked away from, trying to hide the blush on her face.

"I know I told you ten years ago, that I had to deny my heart in order to become the Samurai I always wanted to be; to become like Sensei. But, every time I closed my eyes, I saw you. Every woman that I saw, I saw you instead. You have plagued my head and heart for ten years, Kirara-dono."

Kirara turned to look at Katsushiro, her face slightly pink. She reached out a hand tenderly and touched his face. She brought her face close to his and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Katsushiro-sama, I have thought about you for the past ten years, too."

She kissed him again, this time it seemed more urgent. Katsushiro picked up on this signal and deepened the kiss. He heard Kirara moan against his lips and he licked her bottom lip, wanting to gain entrance. Her lips opened slightly and he thrust his tongue into her mouth. He started to duel for dominance and taste the sensitive lining of her mouth. She moaned again, and Katsushiro pulled away from Kirara.

"Katsushiro-sama?" she asked, opening her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kirara-dono. I can't do this to you. I had every intention to take you, but I can't. I don't want to force that on you."

Kirara reached out and grabbed his hand. Katsushiro looked away from her. He couldn't face her, not after what he had planned to do.

"I am okay with it," she said, squeezing his hand slightly. "I want to be yours."

Katsushiro turned to look at her, his emerald green eyes wide with shock.

"Are you certain, Kirara-dono?" he asked.

She gave him a small smile and nodded her head. Kirara stood on her tip-toes and pressed her lips to his. At this point, he knew that there was no going back, and he knew she was aware of that as well.

Kirara awoke with a start and looked around the room. She was in the room with her grandmother and Komachi. And judging by how dark it was outside, it was just a little bit before dawn. She got up quietly and dressed and left the hut.

Kirara walked toward the graves when she stopped. She didn't want to see them now. She headed toward her wildflower field. Kirara knew she shouldn't be out here alone at this hour, but she needed to clear her mind. She had just had a dream about Katsushiro. Kirara remembered hearing something about the dreams you had, sometimes expressed your desires. Did that mean she wanted to be with Katsushiro in every way?

She dropped to her knees among the flowers and buried her face in her hands. Yes, she wanted to be with him in every way possible. Kirara knew she couldn't live without him, and she didn't know if she would ever see him again. She was prepared to wait for him until she was old and grey. She didn't want anyone else but Katsushiro. She wanted to see him just one more time.

Dawn had broken when Katsushiro had woken up. He had another dream about Kirara. This time, it was telling him that he needed to go back to Kanna and get her. He knew that he couldn't live without her. He knew he was fool for waiting so long to go see her. There was no way he could put it off anymore. He got up and got dressed and packed his possessions.

He decided to sell his place in Kogakyo, but he would come back and do that later. Katsushiro knew his place would be with Kirara from now on. She was the one he needed to be with. He wasn't going to be spending his nights with anymore whores or easy women. He would be spending his nights with Kirara.

He needed to go back to Kanna just one more time.

The End

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><p>AN: Well, what did you think? They both had the same dream. In case you didn't pick up on it, the dream started when Katsushiro got up and went to Kanna. But, I know you are all smart and was able to pick up on that. I didn't make it seem like a dream, because I wanted to throw you all off. Hehe. Anyways, I do hope you all liked it and I am sorry I was unable to write the lemon for this story. I just wasn't feeling it. Maybe someday I can write one between the two of them. Anyways, constructive criticism is welcome, but please no flames.


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